The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Chelsea shoots down foes
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
The good times just keep rolling for Chelsea's boys' basketball team. The Bulldogs (8-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) have won five straight games and seven out of their last eight contests. In fact, Chelsea is a perfect 5-0 in 2008.
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Last week, the Bulldogs defeated Tecumseh 56-51 and county rival Dexter 67-56.
Against the visiting Indians, Chelsea fell behind 21-20 after the first quarter. Tecumseh entered the game on a two-game win streak. Plus, the Indians had standout 6-foot-1 shooting guard Cameron Worker back in the line-up. In the season's second contest, the Bulldogs beat Tecumseh without Worker 62-44.
"He's a really good shooter," Chelsea coach Robin Raymond said of Worker. "We were concerned with a letdown after Dexter (played Jan. 15). They (Tecumseh) came out fired up."
In the second quarter, the Indians continued playing well outscoring the Bulldogs 16-14 taking a 37-34 lead into the break.
"I thought Tecumseh was playing well," Raymond said. "I told the guys (at halftime) we had to weather the storm."
In the third quarter, Chelsea came out stronger, outscoring the Indians 12-10 trimming Tecumseh's advantage to 47-46 entering the fourth frame.
At this point, Raymond said he wanted to turn up the defensive heat.
"We wanted to take the game over," he said. "We tried to pick up our defensive intensity. We were able to turn it up a notch and create a couple of turnovers."
Raymond said Chelsea played a tighter full court press in the fourth quarter.
"We wanted to put pressure on them in the backcourt," he said. "We were able to get a couple easy baskets and get the lead."
In the fourth quarter, behind its in-your-face defense, the Bulldogs netted 10 points, while holding the Indians to four points for the night's final margin.
Senior guard Elliot Marshall led the Bulldogs with 15 points, including going a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
"That was Elliot's best shooting game of the year," Raymond said.
Juniors Michael Stratman (6-7) and Jake Mantel (6-3) each added nine points and three rebounds, while senior Stu Mann had seven points and three boards and senior Greg Rebuldela (6-4) six points and four rebounds for Chelsea.
Senior Matt Schwarze had four points, seven assists and five steals, while sophomore Tyler Zegarzewski had four points and four assists and junior Michael Roberts two points and two rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Worker finished with 12 points for Tecumseh, scoring 10 in the first half. In the second half, he had two points in the third quarter and zero in the fourth stanza.
"We tried to keep the ball out of his hands in the second half," Raymond said. "Matt (Schwarze) did a nice job defensively on him. Matt's a good defensive player for us."
As a team, Chelsea was 12-of-16 from the free throw line for 75 percent. The Bulldogs also had only 13 turnovers for the game.
"I was pleased with that," Raymond said of the Bulldogs' free throw shooting and ball control.
On Jan. 15, visiting Chelsea beat rival Dexter 67-56.
The Bulldogs silenced the rabid Dreadnaught crowd taking a 13-8 first quarter lead.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs played lights out, outscoring Dexter 19-8 taking a commanding 32-16 advantage into the locker room.
In the second quarter, Chelsea shot 8-of-10 from the floor, gave up zero offensive rebounds and committed only one turnover.
"We wanted to set the tone in the first half," Raymond said. "We played very well on the offensive end in the first half. We were able to get the ball to the open man. That made a big difference. We were able to get the ball inside to the cutters."
In the third quarter, the Dreadnaughts responded, outscoring the Bulldogs 23-18 cutting Chelsea's lead to 50-39.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Dexter crowd at a fever pitch and with momentum on its side, the Dreadnaughts cut the Bulldog lead to six points. With Chelsea staggering just a bit, Raymond called a timeout to calm his squad.
It worked.
Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs caught their second wind, scoring three straight baskets and regaining control of the contest.
"That was big," Raymond said. "We weathered their second half run."
In the fourth quarter, both clubs netted 17 points for the night's final outcome.
As it has all season, Chelsea received contributions from a number of players. Against the Dreadnaughts, the Bulldogs had five players score in double figures.
"It seems that every night somebody else steps up," Raymond said. "Greg Rebuldela played his best game of the year."
Rebuldela paced Chelsea with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Stratman finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Schwarze had 11 points and three steals and Zegarzewski 11 points and five boards.
Mantel ended up with 10 points and four rebounds, while Mann and Roberts each had four points for the Bulldogs.
Chelsea was 28-of-58 from the field for 52 percent. Dexter was 21-of-50 for 42 percent.
At the line, the Bulldogs were 10-of-14 for 71 percent. The Dreadnaughts ended up 10-of-15 for 67 percent.
Chelsea out-rebounded Dexter 39-26, including 16-6 on the offensive glass.
"Our inside defense and rebounding did a great job against Dexter," Raymond said. "We focused on that. Our bench also played an important role. And shooting 52 percent against Dexter is quite an accomplishment."
Chelsea next hosts Ann Arbor Huron Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs travel to Ann Arbor Pioneer for a contest at 7:15 p.m. The Pioneers are ranked in the state's top 10 in Class A.
An interesting side note to Thursday's and Saturday's games is that it will be a girls and boys varsity doubleheader. The Chelsea varsity girls' squad will take on Huron at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Pioneer at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
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